


maul gets married

by grumblebee_dani



Series: hello there [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumblebee_dani/pseuds/grumblebee_dani
Summary: Before Maul becomes a Darth, before he even becomes an apprentice to Sidious, he is traded away by Mother Talzin. He leaves Dathomir behind to marry a young zabrak woman named Caris to appease her parents and his Mother. Compliant, but unsure, they circle each other with wariness until finding a tentative union of their own making.
Relationships: Darth Maul/Original Character(s), Darth Maul/Original Female Character(s)
Series: hello there [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850140
Kudos: 14





	maul gets married

Setting her zhabok into the mount on her bedroom wall, Caris raised her commlink to hear what her mother had to say.

“Wash up and come to the dining room, you’ll want to look decent."

She rolled her eyes and ended the connection. Typical of her mother to expect next to nothing. Rinsing off the sweat and dust of a good workout felt amazing, and she spent a little longer than necessary under the water. Hopefully whatever she needed to look decent for could wait.

Caris’ closet wasn’t nearly as full as her parents tried to make it. Any item of clothing that mysteriously found its way in without her permission was quickly discarded. She prided herself in upholding the longstanding zabrak tradition of being a stubborn pain in the ass.

After making sure the tunic she had picked didn’t have any holes or stains, she went over to her bed where a young twi’lek woman had been sleeping since she had gone to the training room.

“Day, wake up.”

“Huh?” She rolled over to look up with bleary eyes.

“Mom called me to the dining room for something and I don’t want to go alone.”

Dayanna nodded, used to following the whims of her best friend. Technically she had no choice, as she was brought to the house to be Caris’ personal attendant when they were both thirteen, but that was just a formality. Without her, Caris would have gone insane in that huge house with no one around but her parents and the occasional business partner. Seven years together had made them inseparable. 

The first thing Caris saw when she entered the dining room was a young man with the markings of a Dathomirian. His gold eyes glinted under the lights just as hers did, and a strange feeling passed over her. He remained in his seat, looking bored out of his mind as Caris’ mother led her by the arm to stand across from him.

“Darling, this is Maul. The preparations have finally been made, and he is to be your new husband. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Caris clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, grabbing desperately for the willpower to keep her cool. Unfortunately, a spark of Force energy from her arm caused her mother to sharply retract her hand. 

“My _what?”_

There was a sickening pause where no one said anything at all. Then, from the doorway, Dayanna’s soft voice piped up, “Husband, Caris.”

Opening her eyes, she saw that Maul was staring at her with the gentle intensity of a businessman appraising a deal. Still, he said nothing.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Her tone was not so venomous, but no less frustrated.

“You should be grateful that we found someone worth your merit, darling. You are not some backwater girl that gets to pick and choose. Our family-”

“ _Enough.”_ Caris cut her off with a hiss and stalked out of the room to find the space to breathe. It was hard enough to deal with her mother without a stranger watching them go back and forth. 

She could hear Dayanna’s footsteps hurrying to catch up, and she waited at her bedroom door to hold it open. Her wrath was for her mother, not anyone else who might get in caught in the crossfire. 

“Well that was awkward.” She jumped back onto the bed and held her arms open for Caris to slump into them.

“How did they keep this from me? Dad has the biggest mouth on the planet and Mom takes every opportunity to hold this kind of thing over my head. This is insane.”

Day rubbed comforting circles into her back and hummed. “They probably thought of it like a business thing. They never talk about that stuff with us.”

That was true. Home and work were kept separated as much as possible. Squishing her face into Day’s shoulder, she opted to speak through the bond they had established when they were young and Caris was first figuring out her connection with the Force.

_“I shouldn’t have just left the guy in there with her. She’s probably complaining about how insolent I am.”_

_“We can go back if you feel up to it.”_

_“I’ll go talk to him alone. I don’t want to make this any weirder for him than it already is.”_

_“Fair enough.”_

Maul was sitting right where she had left him. Thankfully, he was the only one still in the dining room. Caris sighed and ran a hand over her face as she sat down across from him.

“Sorry about that. Just needed to get away for a second. My name is Caris.”

Those eyes were staring harder than before, but there was still no hint of annoyance, or even dislike. He just seemed interested...like she was a puzzle to be solved.

“It’s no trouble at all. I was informed of the situation just this morning.”

His voice was deep and slightly raspy, catching her off guard. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but certainly not something that sounded like it came from a holofilm. If her complexion was any lighter, he may have seen her blush.

“What were you told? What you saw was all I got.”

He leaned back in his chair and let those golden eyes roam over her in that same interested way. “Mother Talzin made a deal with your parents. Influence on Cantonica in exchange for a match for their daughter. It’s all politics.”

Caris wasn’t surprised. She had only ever heard of Mother Talzin in passing, but her father could remember much more of her from his childhood on Dathomir. She was a force to be reckoned with, but a powerful ally. 

“Can I assume your reaction was better than mine?” Spoken with humor, she enjoyed the slight quirk of his lips as he tried to suppress a smile.

“Unfortunately no...I refused to be taken away from my training until I was chastised by my superiors.”

He said it so plainly, but she couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of him throwing a tantrum. 

“Does that amuse you, Caris?” 

She coughed and shook her head, “No, not at all. Nothing funny about a grown man getting scolded like a child.” 

There was a flicker of darkness across his handsome features, coupled with a sharp grin. "Be careful how you speak, my dear."

Matching his tone, she leaned forward on her elbows until she could feel his breath ghosting against her face. "To whom? The man invited into my home without my consent?"

The way he narrowed his gaze made her clench her fists. He would not get the best of her.

"To the man you have been promised to." 

The pang in her stomach wanted her to close the distance between herself and this unfairly attractive adversary, but her more rational thoughts reminded her that she was not meant to make him an adversary at all. She came to apologize, not to wonder how it would feel to tug on his lower lip with her teeth. 

"If you wish to be a part of this trade, I expect more from you than feeble threats."

Maul leaned ever closer, almost letting the tips of their noses touch as he whispered, "Do you expect me to court you, Caris?"

Body barely willing, she sat back in her chair and feigned nonchalance while everything inside of her wanted to scream, _yes!_

"I expect the both of us to make the best of the situation we have been forced into. We will be married whether we like it or not, and I intend to stand beside you with at least some measure of respect. Even affection, if we find it possible." 

He watched her as she spoke; calculating, but not cold. "It seems we are in agreement."

She stood from the table, and he spoke again before she could turn away. "I should warn you, dear...I am not easy to get along with."

Unsure what that could mean, Caris shrugged and left to find Dayanna. She was going to want to hear everything. 

The next day, Maul knocked on her bedroom door well before she would normally get up. Flicking her wrist, the door swung open.

"A Force user, I see. Have you had any training?"

With a groan, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Not really...I'm self taught."

He furrowed his brow in surprise and frustration. "That is hardly suitable. Have you never been contacted by the Sith? Surely, your presence must have been felt by someone." 

Yawning, she patted the bed for him to sit with her, but he remained where he was. "Nope. No Jedi either." 

He scowled at the mention of the light-side warriors. "This is most unfortunate. However, I was in training to become a Sith apprentice when I was sent here. I will show you how powerful you can be."

Caris gave him a sideways look. "Thank you, but I really don't want to take a side. I've met my fair share of crazies from both and I'd rather just do my own thing."

Maybe it was the grogginess of being woken up early, but she was speaking in a manner that confused Maul. Her decorum had depreciated immensely from the evening before. 

"What do you mean? There is no other option than to _take a side._ "

She simply shrugged. "Not to me. I think the Jedi and the Sith are the same thing with different ideologies. I mean, think about it...both of them are just cults that want to unify the galaxy through kidnapping and brainwashing Force-sensitive children, right? Saying no to both lets me choose how I want to live my life."

Stunned into silence, he barely registered Caris gently leading him to sit down on her bed. 

She spoke more softly, still holding one of his hands. "I'm not saying you're wrong for being a Sith, I just want you to understand why I don't want to be one." 

Standing abruptly, he left without another word. The loss of his hand in hers came with an emptiness that was more than physical. 

Caris didn’t see Maul the next morning. She wasn’t sure what room he was staying in, and she definitely wasn’t going to ask her parents. They would only scold her for chasing him away. 

Instead of running after him, she spent most of her time in the training room. It was a cross between a gymnasium and an arena, with terraced seating along one wall and equipment on the opposite. These areas were walled off by clear plastoid, while the midground was open for sparring and obstacle courses. 

Typing in a command for one of these courses using a datapad set into the wall by the entrance, Caris took a deep breath and let it go slowly. She had found it was best to start with a clear head.

A trapdoor in the ground opened up to let two seeker droids fly out. They were fast, but they didn't have the ability to think the way she could. All they knew was their programming, and that made them predictable. Reaching out a hand, she imagined closing her fingers around the Force surrounding one of the droids, then used that handhold to send it careening into the other. Reduced to a pile of scraps, they were swept into the gutters on the edge of the arena to be replaced by a new foe.

Rolling her shoulders, Caris bounced lightly on her feet and hoped for a better challenge. Three panels in the ceiling opened to allow heat sensing blasters to descend and begin firing. Jumping out of the way of a shot, she laughed and reached out again to try a similar trick. Unfortunately, the blaster she was focusing on didn't wait to shoot a second time and almost gave her a new scar. Jerking away, Caris ran to one of the plastoid walls, kicking herself off of it to leap at a blaster and hang onto it. Dangling there, she sent a bolt of electricity into the wiring and hopped to the ground as it began to spark and become useless. She stayed on her feet to keep the other two blasters busy, cursing at herself for not remembering to use the first against them the way she had with the seekers. It took a few tries, but she managed to leap up and get ahold of another blaster, turning the barrel toward the third and blasting it before almost losing her grip; she swayed with the droid and caused it to come loose, hanging on by a jumble of cables. Willing them to snap, Caris sent them both tumbling to the floor, rolling as she hit the solid surface. Breathing heavily, she decided it was time for a break and pointed across the room at the datapad, turning off the course with the Force. 

Rejuvenated by a snack and an entire bottle of water, she went back into the training room to find Maul sitting in the stands. Cocking an eyebrow, she said nothing and moved confidently past him to the midground. 

"I heard you earlier...thought I'd come and see what a self-taught woman can do."

Caris looked at him, unsure of what he was thinking or feeling. If she wanted to, she could try to bond with him like she had with Dayanna. But she could intuit that he might see it as an invasion of privacy rather than a way to communicate. And there had to be some darkness in that head of his if he was going to be a Sith. 

They were meant to be married within the week, and they still had no idea how to interact. Maybe training together could help.

"Come here and join me! I've never really had a partner."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but gave in pretty easily. 

"What do you usually do in here? It's of a higher quality than many facilities I've seen."

Caris explained the courses she liked to use, how she preferred the Force as her weapon of choice. 

"Interesting. Do you not have a physical weapon?"

"I mean, I have my zhabok, but I left it in my room."

"Hmm...go get it. I'd like to show you some forms."

Hesitant to allow him to take the role of mentor, she did as he said anyway.

Maul spent hours with her, going through the more technical forms he had been taught by the Sith. They were not incredibly difficult, but she was sore by the time they took a short rest.

"Is this all you do? Train to take down the Jedi?"

"No, we learn about our people's history and the importance of what it means to be Sith as well. We are meant to instill freedom where the Jedi impose order. The dark side is not evil, it is a tool for reaching your true potential."

Caris thought about his words while they sat together on the stands. "I think it's hard for us to see each other's point of view because we only have our own perspective. I'll never know what it's like to grow up as a Sith, and you'll never know what it's like not to."

She wanted so badly to take his hand in hers, but she forced her fingers to stay on her own knee. "To me...like I told you before, both sides are so easy to corrupt that it doesn't matter what the original ideas for them were. They are tools, but they can be used by anyone, so they become warped by ulterior motives."

He considered this for a long time, unknowingly torturing Caris by staying so close, yet so out of reach. "I will continue to think about what you said, but I cannot conclude anything now. Would you like to continue?" He gestured to where their weapons lay on the ground nearby.

"Sure. We can stop for the day once dinner is ready." She smiled at him, and if she wasn't mistaken, he might have smiled back.

Five days. That's all they had to get to know each other before the wedding. It was much smaller than Caris' parents had wanted, but she made enough threats for them to back down. Maul had been allowed to invite anyone of his choosing to the ceremony, but he only contacted his brother. A tall, broad, yellow-skinned zabrak with long horns and markings similar to Maul's, he was much more reserved than he looked. He introduced himself as Savage and gave her a polite nod of approval before being ushered to his seat by Dayanna. 

The ceremony itself didn't last long, and Caris was glad. The dress she wore was out of her comfort zone, and she could hardly look at her groom without being overwhelmed by a storm of emotions. He was hers, but not really; their love was only legal, and not of their choosing, but there was an undercurrent of desire that she didn't understand. She hardly knew anything about him, but she so desperately wanted to. He was mysterious and distant, but his hands were warm and his rare smiles made her stomach do flips. She could only hope he felt anything for her in return.

After it was all over, the couple ate together at their own table away from the others. Caris fidgeted with her utensils, poking at the food without an appetite.

"Is something wrong, my dear?"

She blushed and murmured back, "Don't call me that if you don't mean it."

Maul tilted her chin up to look him in the eyes. Gold stared into gold, and there was a short silence before he broke it. "I do."

Caris swallowed and brushed her fingers against his as they lingered on her chin. "How? We're practically strangers."

"Listen to me," He took her hand in his and held it tight. "I may not love you yet, but I will. You are so different from every person I have ever known, and I am not sure what to make of you, but I know you are good for me. We are young, and we have our entire lives to understand each other."

A silent tear rolled down her face, catching the dim light as she took in his words. "You want to love me?"

Maul wiped it away with his free hand and leaned in to press their foreheads together. "You told me you wish to stand beside me with respect and affection. I will not soon forget that, dearest."

She closed her eyes and sniffed back her tears, moving ever so gently to ghost her lips against his. "Neither will I." 

Feeling the words on his skin, he took a breath, then kissed her with a quiet passion that she had never experienced before. Caris returned the kiss with her hands around his neck to pull him in closer. He tasted savory, like the meat of their meal, and she let his tongue explore her mouth without caring whether anyone could see them. This was their wedding day, they were entitled to some displays of affection.

That night, she invited Maul to sleep in her bed. They had a new home to share, but it was a day's trip and her things were not yet packed. 

She started moving toward the fresher to change her clothes, but he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her still. "Let me help."

Caris hesitated for a second, then nodded. He was her husband, he would see her naked at some point. When his fingers brushed the back of her neck, she shivered.

"Cold?"

"No, just...well, I've never been touched this way."

"Never?"

His breath was hot on her neck, and his hands were still undoing her dress. 

"No."

He didn't press, and they were quiet while he helped her out of the rest of her clothes. 

"You too." She turned and began tugging at his tunic with a sleepy, yet playful smile. 

His eyes held a new kind of warmth, and he let her strip him down with soft fingers.

Caris led him to the bed and laid down, positioning herself in the crook of his arm when he joined her.

"Maul?"

"Yes dear?"

"Can we wait to do anything more?"

"Of course. It will be more pleasurable if we understand each other and our needs."

She grinned up at him. "Very logical, thank you."

He rolled his eyes and settled his body closer to hers. "Go to sleep, Caris."

"Yes, love."


End file.
